Using conventional technology, e-commerce purchases are typically facilitated on the Internet by directing consumers to purchase products through specified websites. Specifically, a consumer on the Internet may be directed to a specific website via online advertising or sponsored links, where such websites describe specific products available for purchase, allow the consumer to choose a product for purchase, and direct the consumer to purchase the product through an e-commerce application from that website. Thus, one drawback with conventional technology is that it requires the consumer to navigate to a specific website to purchase a product, which can be time-consuming and discourage product purchases.
Furthermore, using conventional technology, products advertised on the Internet are traditionally advertised through banner advertising, “clickable” ads, sponsored links, or the like. Such advertising can range from static graphical images to rich media content, permitting the user to “click” on the ad and be redirected to a new web page (either in a new browser window or a new tab in the user's browser) to display the product, describe the product, and provide a mechanism to facilitate the purchase through an e-commerce application through that website. If a user is watching and/or listening to media content when the purchase is desired, then it can be very distracting to have to navigate to another web page to purchase the product and, when attempting to return to the media content, the user may potentially lose the media content or lose the place in the media content requiring that the media content be re-started, frustrating a user and discouraging future purchases, and further resulting in lost revenues and business.
Still further, with conventional technology, most product marketing on the Internet is achieved through banner advertising, “click-through” ads, or similar commercials run on a media player on a specific website. Although such ads can be placed on different websites through contractual arrangements with website owners and ad server networks, such ads are limited to specific areas designated for advertising on such websites, thereby limiting the scope of advertising to users who visit such specific websites, and further limiting such scope to the specific number of ad rolls associated with the traffic to such website or imposing other ad servicing provider limitations on the number of times such advertising for the product is presented on such websites, thereby restricting a user's opportunity to purchase the advertised product.
Therefore, what is needed is a system and method for facilitating e-commerce transactions without requiring that a consumer navigate to another website to engage in a transaction for the purchase of a product, without excessively distracting a consumer when watching and/or listening to media content, without limiting the marketing of a product through ads in specific areas designated for advertising on specific websites, without limiting the scope of advertising to users who visit such specific websites, and without limiting the marketing of a product to a specific number of ad rolls or other ad servicing provider limitations on the number of times advertising for products is presented on such websites.